Round-and-Round We Go! Lobbyist Jon Kyl Don't Disclose

Here in Mesa we are blessed to have not one but two "Revolving-Door Lobbyists" - one former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl and one former U.S. Congressman Matt Salmon. Both have become highly-paid Influence-Peddlers capitalizing on their in/out times holding elected office and the public trust for their own wealth creation. Just one thing both share are salaries by ASU hiring them as lobbyists - those out-of-office jobs have earned high returns in campaigns to get Mesa taxpayers to foot the bill for a new ASU start-up satellite campus here in downtown when there's already $3B to finance new construction for Arizona's three state institution's of higher education. Here's more about Jon Kyl:  

Revolving Door on Steroids: Lobbyist Jon Kyl, Who Served Four Months in the Senate, Won’t Disclose Some Clients

David Dayen January 8 2019, 8:49 a.m.

"Republican Jon Kyl, whose second Senate tenure concluded on December 31, is keeping secret nine clients he advised while working at a powerful corporate lobbying and law firm in 2017 and 2018. Kyl was supposed to reveal the clients in his mandatory Senate financial disclosure, but he cited a D.C. bar rule to keep them confidential. . . 

Critics have charged that Kyl returned to the Senate temporarily to refresh his contacts and gain clout from the inside, only to then spin back out to influence the institution.

On Monday, Covington & Burling announced that Kyl would return to his lobbying job, swinging through the revolving door only one week after leaving the Senate.
“Given his profile and depth of experience in Washington, we expect he can make important contributions in a range of matters, particularly for clients in the technology, life sciences, and defense sectors who may face numerous policy challenges in Congress and the executive branch,” said Timothy Hester, Covington’s chair, in a statement.

Kyl cannot lobby former colleagues directly for two years due to Senate ethics rules, but he can provide behind-the-scenes advice for corporate clients.
Kyl’s annual disclosure was due September 28, a few weeks after he was sworn in. But he got a 90-day extension, and he waited until the last possible day, January 3, to file the form.

. . . It’s unclear whether anyone in government will now demand that Kyl release the names of the clients. However, some experts believe the public has a right to know, a belief made even more urgent with Kyl’s speedy return to lobbying.
“Without knowing who has paid his way until he joined government service, we can’t ascertain what his conflicts might have been while in office,” said Delaney Marsco of the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based watchdog group. “Even though he’s no longer a senator, it’s important for the public to have this information.”
> The disclosure form Kyl filed last week indicates that he earned $1,859,852.82 at Covington & Burling in 2017 and 2018, and it names 23 lobbying clients from whom he earned $5,000 or more in those years

> Kyl also noted that he advised Facebook during the reporting period, which was already public information (he was brought in to examine claims of conservative bias on the social media site).

> He added five other clients who he hadn’t previously named in earlier disclosures:

• Arizona Public Service/Pinnacle West Capital Corporation
• Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company,
• MGM Resorts International,
• Republic Services Inc.
• Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement
• Power District/Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association.

 

> The clients we already know Kyl to have served just before entering the Senate cover a wide range of subjects

• Celgene and Merck
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
• mining company Freeport-McMoRan
• chipmaker Qualcomm
• tax preparer H&R Block
• retailer Walmart; 
• beer distributor Anheuser-Busch InBev
• software company SAP America
• metal manufacturer JW Aluminum
• conservative organization Judicial Crisis Network (for whom he assisted on the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch)
• Georgetown University
• defense contractor Northrop Grumman.

The question is how that information can now be released. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics administers the chamber’s financial disclosures. 

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READ MORE from the source > https://theintercept.com/2019

District 1 Mesa City Councilmember Mark Freeman Gets A Feature Story

To be honest, your MesaZona blogger was bowled over by just one more what appears to be yet another "planted-story" in mainstream media so soon after Mark Freeman was named Vice-Mayor. The feature was accompanied by 7 images of Freeman taken on a 1-acre plot of land at the SWC of Brown Road/Center Street that adjoins the Fitch Family Farm Homestead. The small parcel is irrigated by old open canal ditches. It is closely surrounded by larger parcels of real estate development to create family fortunes. 

Mesa Vice Mayor Mark Freeman talks about urban farming at Freeman Farms in Mesa.  (Photo11: Cheryl Evans/The Republic)
"The traditional farm, like this, is pretty much done," he said. "I've worked with my hands all my life, but my kids aren't going to do it."
Blogger Note: You can easily why >
Furthermore, although it's true that Freeman has worked with his hands all his life, he's worked full-time for 31 years as a Medical Fire Captain, enjoying generous retirement benefits of over $200,000/year + a $46,000+ part-time salary as a City Councilmember.
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. . . and O yes

The land itself is lucrative, too, though more for what's to come than for what is planted there now. 
Here's an easy-to-see time-lapse of the explosive expansion of Suburbia into what once were agriculture lands here in Maricopa County taken over by the Real Estate/Industrial Complex from 1900-2010.
It does not include the 3,600 acres in east Mesa, formerly the General Motors Proving Grounds, where new massive secluded suburban enclaves of Master-Planned Communities Eastmark and Cadence at Gateway are being built.
No mention of the new wealth for more family fortunes in suburban real estate speculation and development East Valley communities, instead we get this assertion from Freeman: "like Mesa's Eastmark and Gilbert's Agritopia, [they] already have embraced urban farming. . . " HUH? Urban farming in Suburbia?

Mark Freeman casts a long shadow here in Mesa, claiming generations-old roots to the Crismon Family, early Mormon pioneers sent by Brigham Young in Salt Lake City 'to colonize Arizona" in  the 1850's in both Lehi and later in Mesa.

"Freeman's family has been farming in the Valley since well before statehood. He traces his family's Valley farms back to 1878 — the Freemans have leased their current farm, off Center Street and Brown Road in Mesa, since the 1930s, he said. . ."

Hey! Let's throw in some real nice NOSTALGIA:
"He looks at his tractor and the field of alfalfa he's growing just a mile and a half north of downtown Mesa. He remembers a time when more of the city looked like this. . . "

Before what?

Answer: Before real estate and unsustainable suburban expansion ruled the East Valley

"It's not going to make you any money," Freeman said.

"It's got to be a labor of love."

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Family farms made Phoenix livable, so why are so many going away?

 

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OK that was then. This is now

The need to fix 19-years of Drought in the lower Colorado River Basin and Salt River Valley when the State of Arizona has failed to meet a federally-imposed deadline for any Drought Contingency Plans.   

But what else is Josh Bowling trying to tie-in writing in his feature?

You'll have to find out for yourselves by reading Josh Bowling's feature click here 

What's interesting  is another assertion made by Vice Mayor Mark Freeman:

"If traditional farming is going to keep bringing in cash for the county, it will likely be from farmers on tribal lands, where land isn't being developed as aggressively," he said.

There's a balance to achieve between the Valley's growing urban areas and fading agricultural areas, . . Lately, that balance is shifting toward more development."

RIGHT. Since 1900 - Now

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So what's going on now with another conservative Mormon Mesa Republican Rusty Bowers?

Arizona Lawmaker Accused Of Endangering DCP

A top Arizona Democrat is accusing the Republican House speaker of risking the collapse of a drought plan for the Colorado River by pushing legislation that has angered the Gila River Indian Community, a key player in the negotiations.

Feb. 15, 2019

 

Gila River Indian Community No Longer Backing DCP

The Drought Contingency Plan, approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Doug Ducey in January, could be in trouble.

Feb. 15, 2019

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Mesa Vice Mayor Mark Freeman talks about urban farming while walking through his alfalfa crop at Freeman Farms in Mesa.  (Photo11: Cheryl Evans/The Republic)

Yes You Can Be A Smart, Sassy,Savvy More Informed Media Consumer

Fact Checking & Media Literacy: Be a Savvy Media Consumer
Once upon a time not so long we could believe "Uncle Walter", before we realized that "The Medium - and the Media - is the Message we get.
Now we know in The Age of Trump, The P.T. Barnum of American Politics, that there are "Fake News" and "Alternative Facts". 
You can fool most of the people some of the time or some of the people all the time.
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
Here's a primer on some basics
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First: dealing with the fastest - things go viral > here's some help:

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Second: Let's get back to some basics: What you read in newspapers
Fact Checking & Media Literacy:
Be a Savvy Media Consumer
[Includes links to Facts Checking Resources and "Fake News]
TYPES OF NEWS STORIES:

• Editorial
• Op-Ed
• Features
• Breaking News
• Data Journalism
• Column

Source: https://libguides.njstatelib.org/facts/media
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Fact-Checking Presentations From Mesa City Council Strategic Planning Session

This is not quick-or-fast-or-easy read. 
As readers of this blog well-know by now, your MesaZona blogger is not a person who accepts things at face-value. Therefore, that's the reason for insertion of the animated .gif that opens this post. Let's just call it a healthy informed skepticism based on past practices of city officials while most members of the public here in Mesa tend to tune-out when it's time to either know or find out what their elected government is doing or planning to do . . .
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Here's a good reminder for consumers of the media when it comes to what "politicians" or city officials choose to present as their stated purposes: facts not privileges.
We're not quite ready to feel a need to become 'watch-dogs'.
However, when few residents or citizens here in Mesa have historically not been involved or not engaged - or more importantly not informed - in what both elected and salaried city officials are doing, there's a gap and a big hole in representative democracy.
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Here's a rundown of the agenda for a Special Mesa City Council Strategic Planning Session that was held at 07:30 a.m. last Wednesday on Valentine's Day - not exactly the best time for the public to have an opportunity to attend on a mid-week working day.
Since this special planning session was held outside of the usual City Council Chambers location, it could be expected that the proceedings were not either live-streamed in real-time or recorded for later broadcast by city-owned Mesa Channel 11 or uploaded to YouTube.
We won't have a public record of the special strategic planning session until 3 business days after February 14th. Since city offices are closed on Fridays, and it's a holiday tomorrow for Presidents' Day, the most likely day to see the official minutes (or a video) won't be provided until almost a week afterwards. 
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1 Mayor's welcome, introductions, and purpose of the Strategic Planning Session

2 Presentations and discussions relating to City operations:

> Item 2-a 19-0158
Hear a presentation and discuss the City’s forecast highlights including Mesa’s financial and economic trends.

> Item 2-b 19-0159
Hear a presentation and discuss current national, regional, and local trends affecting the City including demographics and census information and the City Departments’ key initiatives and projects

3 Presentations and discussions relating to the City Council Strategic Priorities:

> Item 3-a 19-0160
Hear a presentation and discuss the categories of the existing City Council Strategic Priorities (Community Safety, Transforming Neighborhoods, Placemaking, Skilled and Talented Workforce, and Sustainable Economy.)

> Item 3-b 19-0161
Participate in a facilitated discussion by the Council with the purpose of establishing a shared vision and direction relating to the City Council Strategic Priorities

4 Closing remarks and discussion on the next steps relating to the City Council 

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These two items might deserve some special attention for readers of this blog:
Item 2 Financial Highlights
[8 pages]

 BRIAN A. RITSCHEL, MANAGEMENT & BUDGET DEPUTY DIRECTOR
 
Item 3 National-Regional-Local Awareness [13 pages]

 CHRIS BRADY, CITY MANAGER

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Interesting to note that City Manager Chris Brady chose to use a survey and estimates.
One of the bullet-points is highlighted for what appears to be questionable.
Another bullet-point for Median Household Income citywide might be broken down by either City Council districts, zip codes or census tracts to provide more clarity for the disparities throughout the city on unequal distribution of incomes.

American Community Survey 5-yr. estimates (Census 2020)

• Mesa Population (2019): 496,401

• Median Household Income: $52,155

• Persons in poverty, percent: 15.8%

• Educational Attainment, percentage high school graduate or higher: 87.7%

• Median Housing Value: $187,900

• Total Housing Units: 206,406

• Percent households w/broadband internet subscription 80.6%

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PLEASE NOTE:
All of the above content is directly from http://mesa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

 

MEETING DETAILS:

Meeting Name:

City Council Strategic Planning Session

Agenda status:

Final

Meeting date/time:

2/14/2019 7:30 AM

Minutes status:

Draft

Meeting location:

Benedictine University - Community Room 225 East Main Street Mesa, AZ 85201

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Trump Press Conference Cold Open - SNL

President Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) takes questions at press conference.

Published on Feb 16, 2019

Views: 486,016+

Comments: 3,029+

 

Sample of some of the comments:

This press conference was more coherent than the real one

It's sad the reality is actually crazier than this

Alec Balwin is more coherent and doesn't babble as much. Trump is incapable of speaking in complete sentences

Funny but not half as crazy as the real thing

 

Most Germ-Infested Places You Touch Everyday

Published on Feb 17, 2019

Views: 6,890+

Comments: 3,111+

What places do you visit and touch every day? Do you know how many germs and other potentially harmful things are there?

Rogue Columnist Jon Talton Takes On ASU's Crow

It was quite a day yesterday - Valentine's Day - for Jon Talton: his pen must have been "warmed-up" by all the snow in Seattle! He took on both Amazon and ASU

February 14, 2019

ASU Empire

" . .  . Early on in his tenure (which began in 2002), Crow set out to monetize everything possible. This was clear from our first meeting. He asked me what ASU should do? I drew up a list of dozens of holistic economic-social-environmental benchmarks we needed to track to get a sense of where metro Phoenix stood beyond population growth and housing starts. Soon after, I was contacted by the head of the economics department. He'd been given my list (thanks a lot) — but his task was to create something that could be sold. I don't think it ever happened, but much else did. . .

ASU spread out to multiple campuses, especially in downtown Phoenix but also SkySong in Scottsdale and the polytechnic on the old Williams Air Force Base. These were often heavily subsidized with partnerships from the cities involved. ASU has been the most important driver of downtown Phoenix's revival, and is an important part of the Downtown Biomedical Campus. ASU is also building a stealth medical school in partnership with the Mayo Clinic.

Mesa Mayor John Giles really likes
real estate speculation in
Downtown Mesa 

Crow speaks the language of developers, an invaluable skill in a state where real estate is the No. 1 industry.

. . . A supercharged ASU Foundation keeps setting records, bringing in $253 million for fiscal 2018. Crow was also able to push past years of resistance to bonding, to gain state approval for a 25-year, $1 billion program to fix existing buildings and construct new ones for all three universities.

It's hard not to find Arizona State University — from establishing an outpost in Washington, D.C., to its pioneering online degree initiative with Starbucks, to the ASU Center on the Future of War. The latter is especially intriguing, bringing in international heavyweights on national security and military affairs. I would love to know who funds it. But it's an example of the many ways ASU is expanding its prestige, not merely in the size of its student body. . .

Still, Phoenix remains an economy that punches well below its weight, mostly with development, tourism, and back-office jobs. It trails peers in adults with bachelor's degrees or higher. Opportunities for most ASU graduates are found elsewhere. But the university is the metro area's leading light, and is essential to its future (if one can look past magical thinking about the "Sun Corridor").

That this has been accomplished despite the vicious anti-education agenda of the political elite is even more impressive.

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LINK > You can find the entire column from Jon Talton by accessing the following link

RogueColumnist.com 14 Feb 2019